Their New Years
by paigee.yovkoff
Summary: 2016-2017: "She didn't think about what it would do to everyone else. She just went. We told her not to, every single time, we told her not to. We told her we could help her! We're a team. We're a family. She had no right." ANGST WARNING.
1. 2010 - 2011

**Their New Years.  
2010 - 2011.  
Words: **620**  
Couple: **Nell Jones and G Callen**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS.**  
AU.**

…

Tapping her pen against the paper in front of her, Nell Jones frowned and pushed away from her desk, sending her chair rolling towards Eric Beale's desk. Bracing herself with her palm hitting the edge of the desk, she began to type away at the computer. Transferring the screen to the projector, she pushed her chair back towards the table in the middle of the room so she could look at it all more freely.

Identities of terrorists were being filtered through her mind as she translated to herself the intel that was in front of her.

"God dammit Nate, what have you gotten yourself into?" she muttered to herself, reaching behind her to grab her tablet off of the table.  
"Didn't think shrinks were supposed to be getting into trouble," a voice chuckled from the door way, "But then again, Nate always had a soft spot for field work."  
Jumping in her chair, a hand flew to her chest, eyes wide as she looked to her visitor, "Agent Callen, uh, hi?"  
"Working late on New Year's Eve?"  
"Nothing else to do," she nodded, trying her best to take the information of the screen before he caught a glimpse.

She watched as the federal agent nodded, a smile on his lips as he assessed the situation in front of him. Nell knew that he was aware of her involvement in Nate Getz's overseas assignments with the FBI, he had to, he was technically her boss after all. He led the team, and while professionally they were both on the same level, he would have superiority over her in any and almost _every _situation.

"Nate safe?"  
"Uh, yeah, I guess."  
"FBI treating him well?"  
She shrugged, placing her tablet on the table again, "They hate that he uses reverse psychology to get the truth from them all the time, the team he's with a used to going in hard tactical, not stepping back and assessing the situation."  
"He does it to the best of us," he replied, stepping further into the room, "Next time you catch up with him, tell him he's welcome back any time. He hasn't officially met Deeks yet, and I'm sure he'd give him a run for his money."  
"I'll try to remember that."

Nell fiddled with the cuff of her cardigan as silence fell over them. Through her head she thought over what she'd told Eric weeks into her starting at OSP, _control issues over men she admired, generally finished their sentences_. God, she had to keep it in line.

"I came up to get the last incident report from yesterday," he explained, "Need to sign it before I go tonight otherwise Hetty will have my head."  
"I'll just get that," Nell nodded, using her feet to push her back towards her desk.

Spinning her chair around, the requested file in her hands, she found her walked in further to stand just a few feet away from her. The intelligence _did not _remember stealth ninja training being apart of the NCIS field agent recruitment process.

"You're good at what you do, Nell Jones," Callen told her, taking the file from her hands and looking over it once, "A bit too good. OSP have a bad track record of intelligence analysts, and you honestly would never have made it this far if you weren't as good as you are."  
"Uh, thank you, I guess."

He smiled, wishing her a Happy New Year before turning on his heel and making his way out of the communications center. Slumping back in her chair Nell watched him go. From this she knew one thing, if Nate Getz had seen her side of this confrontation. He would have a field day.

…

_Alrighty, my lovely people. This is how it goes.  
Updates: Wednesdays. I've written up to the 2014-2015 New Year's celebrations, and as a slight spoiler type thing, this runs with the assumption that Nell and Callen begin a purely sexual relationship something in 2011 (her second year, yeah? Just in case I need to make edits) and it slowly becomes more romantic. Seems a tad OC, but I after writing ahead ('cos I always get ahead of myself. Always) that's how it sort of worked out from my point of view._

_Don't know how long this'll be, but I've written five – including this one – I may aim for ten? Depends on how we go with this whole posting on time thing. We all know I'm lousy at that c;_

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are mine._

_Review?_


	2. 2011 - 2012

**Their New Years.  
2011 - 2012.  
Words: **390**  
Couple: **Nell Jones and G Callen**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS.  
**AU.**

…

There was a hand tracing patterns on her waist, tickling her as she lay with her head on his chest. Sheets and blankets were hazardly pulled up to their waists, cold air from the still opened window making goose bumps grow on her skin. She felt sated, calm, lying there with her arm draped across his waist in post-coital bliss.

When the phone on the bed-side table vibrated against the wood, the tracing on her waist stopped so he could reach for the offending object. His chuckle made her look up to him in confusion.

"Eric wants you to step away from the paperwork and join them, you've already missed the fireworks," Callen told her before blindly chucking the phone somewhere in the room.  
"Guess we missed New Year's with the team," Nell murmured, feeling him pull her closer to him.  
"Dammit."

The intelligence analyst smiled, closing her eyes and blindly reaching for the sheet. Grabbing the hem of the blanket on top of the pile she pulled it up over her head tried her best to keep the cold out.

"What are you doing?"  
"It's _cold_," she whined.  
"The windows open."  
"Close it."

She could hear Callen's laugh, muffled through the blanket's fabric. His free hand pushed it away and pulled her further up the bed so that she was lying on her side facing him. Scrunching her nose up at the sudden movement and moved a hand to cover her eyes.

"Really have to stop doing this," Nell told him, removing her hand and slowly opening her eyes to look at him through the darkness, "Sam may get jealous that I'm stealing his partner away."  
"He'll get over it."

Reaching out with her hand, she placed her thumb onto his cheek, wiping away an eyelash with a small smile.

"It's one am."  
"Not 2011 anymore."  
His hand rested on her waist and he begun tracing patterns again, "Been an alright year, I guess."  
"Better than I thought it would have been."  
"I feel as though some part of that was supposed to stroke my ego."  
"Oh shut up you ass."

His eyes crinkled, when he laughed, the small smile on her face widening as she felt his body shake beside her.

"Happy New Year Pixie," he said through laughter, pulling her back towards him again.  
"Happy New Year."

…

_I'm not as happy as the end as I was with the start, but I've said it countless times before, couldn't find a way to edit it c:_

_The upsides to me being home sick, is that I tend to post things early because I get bored. It's the start of season finale week and I'm waiting for my episode of Castle to download. very. slowly. But anyhoo._

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are mine._

_Review?_


	3. 2012 - 2013

**Their New Years.  
2012 - 2013.  
Words: **544**  
Couple: **Nell Jones and G Callen**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS**  
AU.  
Established Nell/Callen.**

…

"You're insane!" she laughed, trying to swat away his hands as they went to wrap around her waist.  
"I'm not."  
"They'll notice."  
"And?"

Rolling her eyes, Nell Jones stepped away from him to stand in front of the mirror and pulled her sleepers from her ears. The hands that she had been slapping away from her rested on her waist making her sigh as she realized he wouldn't give up.

"We didn't go last year," G Callen murmured, pressing a kiss behind her ear.  
"That's the point, and they'll notice if we don't go this time," she answered simply, "Besides, last time we didn't go, it was because you decided that you'd distract me."  
"Didn't hear you complaining."  
"Of course you didn't."

She could feel his smirk against her neck. Turning around, the ex-CIA agent stood to his full height as she rose onto her toes.

"We're going," Nell said, trying her best to make the authority in her voice clear, even though she was feeling nervous as hell to leave the house with him in the state they were, "And if you're lucky, _maybe _I'll kiss you at midnight."  
"_If_ I'm lucky?"  
"Yeah, maybe I'll pull Deeks away from Kensi for the first time since they started hooking up," she joked, leaning forward and kissing his cheek before slipping out of his arms and making her way to collect her shoes.  
"I didn't hear that."  
"Oh you knew, don't try to hide it. You've known since they went undercover as a married couple. Don't pretend to be stupid, it really isn't attractive."

His groan made her smile, slipping the ballet flats onto her feet, she turned around to stand with her hands on her hips.

"You really make it hard for me not force you to skip this."  
Trying her best to be innocent, Nell stated, "I thought you were a mature federal agent, not a hormonal teenage boy, Mr. Callen. Shame on you!"  
"You're hilarious Pixie," Callen chuckled, following her from the ensuit bathroom to her bedroom.

The intelligence analyst went to say something, grabbing his jacket off of her red comforter, silence as his hands grabbed at her waist and pulled her towards him.

"Persistent."  
"Your fault," he shrugged.  
"Keep going like this and we may have to tell everyone."  
"Wouldn't be too bad, Granger is who we'd have to worry about."

Giving a small hum in reply she rose back onto her toes to kiss him properly. Lips sliding over each other as her hands clutch the jacket close to his chest.

"We have to go," she whispered, pulling away and resting her forehead against his chest as she stood back onto flat feet.  
"Shame."  
"Oh, shut up."

Rolling her eyes again, she handed him his jacket and left the room. The intelligence could hear him flicking lights off as he followed her through her apartment to the front door, and with a smile she reminded herself that he would lie if he was saying he wasn't domestic.

"Keys?" his voice sounded, making her turn to face him again.  
"Yeah, I've got them," she nodded, opening the door, "Ms. Rollins is out watering her garden, if we go stealth, we may be able to leave without being noticed."  
"Oh _funny_."

…

_Eh. I hate writing kisses. (Which is stupid. Evidence 'A': that Harry Potter fanfic I wrote about James and Lily making out in a broom closet.) But I digress. They're super awkies…  
This is probably why I don't have a boyfriend… c;_

_BIG APOLPOGIES! It's two days late… :\  
Not going to give you my long line of excuses, because they don't matter right now. But still. Sorry!_

_I don't actually remember the specific date as to when Densi went UC in 'Neighbourhood Watch' but that was in 2012. Right? Right?_

_So we're heading into completely AU land. Even though this story itself is AU, but now it's _completely _AU. I have no idea what 2014 will be like for the team so I'm sort of making a stab in the dark._

_Oh well._

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are 100% mine._

_Review?_


	4. 2013 - 2014

**Their New Years.  
2013 - 2014.  
Words: **1072**  
Couple: **Nell Jones and G Callen**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS. Heidi and Janet (mentioned) are mine.**  
AU.  
Established Nell/Callen.**

…

Scratching the back of his neck, he frowned at the paperwork in front of him. Words were beginning to blur and he felt exhausted. Coming back from a four month long undercover operation on Boxing Day left him with a large mountain of paperwork to do. He hadn't actually been home yet, residing at his desk for the most part of the week - the other part of the week he was in Henrietta Lange's office listening to her ask more questions about his operation.

All he wanted to do was go home.

Home was where his fiancé was, waiting for him to spend the first night for almost five months in their bed. Where his fiancé was planning a wedding that was set to happen in little under a year. Where his fiancé was, period.

Looking down at his watch in the dim office light, he realized that it was twenty to midnight. Almost 2014. It would become the first New Years that he didn't spend with Nell Jones since her arrival at OSP and it felt odd. He spent nearly every waking moment with the intelligence analyst, at work and at home. It seemed strange not to be with her now.

G Callen closed his eyes and rested his head against his palms. A yawn escaped his mouth, making his eyes water slightly and bringing his attention how little sleep he had gotten over the last few months. Letting his head drop to the desk sleep became his priority for the time being.

…

Soft fingers played with the collar of his jacket, which he had refused to remove that morning as the cold weather had gotten worse. The light above him was brighter and he could hear someone saying his name.

"Come on," they whispered, the quiet voice getting louder, "you'll miss the fireworks."

Shuffling slightly, he moved his head to face towards Kensi Blye's desk, where Nell Jones sat with a small smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?"  
"I came to spend New Year's with my fiancé who doesn't seem to know what a bed is," she explained, her smile widening as he woke up.  
"At work?"  
"Yeah G, at work. Yes you're cute and all that when you're half asleep, but I need you awake."

Sitting up and running his hand down his face, he turned to survey her. She wasn't wearing the floral sundress she had been wearing that day, having swapped it for one of his shirts and a pair of shorts. Ultimately, she made him miss going home even more.

Holding out her hand, she stood up and waited for him to wake up a little more. When Callen finally grasped her hand she led him away from the bullpen area and towards the stairs. Walking beside her as they entered the ops center, a shiver ran over his spine at how much colder it was in the dimly lit room.

"It's been a while," Callen started, "But I'm sure that fireworks are supposed to happen outside."  
"I'm doing something romantic, G Callen, don't try to apply logic to this."

With a chuckle he felt her let go of his hand, his eyes following her as she pulled a bag from underneath her desk and leant over to type at the computer. His eyes snapped to the large screen to his left, the countdown starting with five minutes to go.

"Help me with this?" she asked, pulling a blanket from the bag.  
"Yes Ma'am."

Dodging the light smack of her hand against his arm, the ex-CIA agent took the blanket from her and set it out on the ground.

"Hetty doesn't know that I've got alcohol in ops, if you tell on me, you may not have a wedding to attend," Nell told him, "And I don't have wine glasses, so we'll have to make do with plastic cups."  
"Thought of everything, didn't you Miss Jones?"  
"I don't know Mr. Callen, I obviously forgot what my mother said about accepting drinks from strangers."

Callen shook his head, sitting down and holding a hand out for her to join him. The intelligence analyst cross her legs and handed him their plastic cups, trying her best to un-cork the win without letting it spill over. Holding a cup out to her he allowed her to pour an amount into the cup.

"I thought you were going out with Heidi and Janet?" he questioned, holding the other cup out in front of her.  
"Heidi flew out to Minnesota last night, and Janet is with Eric tonight," she shrugged, "I felt strange at home, the house is so big."  
"But it's big enough for a few bookshelves, huh?"  
"That's why I love it so much," Nell laughed.

She set the uncorked bottle on the ground next to her and accepted the plastic cup he passed to her. His eyes flicked to the large screen to find them three minutes away from midnight. The intelligence analyst had taken a sip from her cup, her free hand moving to take his.

"It's been a long few months."  
"You're home, that's all that matters" Nell stated as their fingers intertwined.  
"I've been here since the 26th, not really home yet Pixie."  
"What about spring?"

Three years ago, he would have been shocked. Three years ago, he would have thought she was crazy. Changing the subject so quickly, as soon as the thought came to her.

"Spring wedding?"  
"Yeah," she nodded, placing her cup beside the open bottle, "We could have it outside, small, just close family and friends."  
"It won't be small with your family Nell."  
"Bite me."

With raised eyebrows, he lifted her hand to his mouth.

"If you really bite me, I will probably slap you."  
Callen chuckled, "So violent."  
"Nope, not violent."  
"Very violent."

Her smile was only small, barely touching the corners of her mouth. Placing his own cup next to hers, his eyes glanced over the timer, checking to see that they had a minute left before leaning towards her and cupping her cheek.

"Minnesota."  
"What?" she frowned.  
"Let's get married in St. Paul."  
"Why?"  
"It'd be easier for us to fly out there, than your family to fly to us."  
"You're crazy," Nell shook her head smiling.

With a shrug, he kissed her, the countdown to their left stopped and the stimulated fireworks begun.

"Happy New Year," Nell murmured.  
"Happy New Year."

…

_It was very, very, very, unintentional that this ended with the same words as the second chapter. I promise. I think._

_I'm updating a day late from a library, and I think I'm going crazy. I am nowhere near done my online training for my job (start next Monday. OMG. Excited!) and I'm at Dad's and they're currently internet-less. -.-  
Going. Crazy._

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are mine._

_Review?_


	5. 2014 - 2015

**Their New Year.  
2014 – 2015  
Words: **1227**  
Couple: **Nell Jones (Callen) and G Callen.**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS.**  
AU.  
Established Nell/Callen.**

…

The computer in front of him flickered to life, causing him to blink his eyes trying to adjust to the sudden light. Rubbing his hand against his neck he tried to work out the kinks as he waited for the log in screen to show.

"We're gonna go mingle outside," Kensi called, reaching for her purse beside the desk, "See if we can spook some of the neighbor's into spilling the beans."  
"Don't scare them too much," he replied.  
"I won't, can't speak for Deeks though."  
"Keep him on a leash."

Her laugh made him smile, knowing that she was in good hands. As she bid him goodbye and went to meet her own partner outside, he turned back to the computer to continue the log in process.

_"Keep it on secure networks G, you know the drift."  
"Yeah Sam, I do."  
"Make sure you check in regularly, even just to whine about those two," his partner gestured to where Kensi Blye and Marty Deeks were arguing over one thing or another, "And to ease Nell's mind. She'll be going crazy with you not here."_

Shaking his head he brought up the email that had been sent through earlier that day, various information all jumbled up into an email that was supposed to be about dry cleaning. With a sigh he search through it and wrote down the numbers one at a time, before opening a new browser and typing them in the same order.

Callen rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and waited for the page to load. It was supposed to be a secure network that connected him to what was left of the team at the Office of Special Projects. It was his and the team's only life-lines back to Los Angeles. His only lifeline to his wife.

They'd been married barely eight months, the last year had been tiring, and here he was, across the country, tying the loose ends that had been made. When he should be at home, with her, dodging the inevitable questions from Heidi Jones about whether or not they were going to have a child.

"_You look good G, Baltimore looks good on you_," Sam Hanna's voice sounded, telling him that the connection had been made.  
"It's fucking cold."  
"_No swearing, Mr. Callen, it's unbecoming_," Henrietta Lange called, obviously standing in the background somewhere.

Looking up he met his partner's eyes, the ex-Navy SEAL smirked and moved out of the way enough for Eric Beale to join him on the screen.

"Got something for me Eric?"  
"_We've set up a PO box around the corner from Baltimore PD, you can take what we've got for you from there, and Special Agent Gibbs' team will set up somewhere where you can exchange what information you've got, be kept up to date_," the technical operator explained, "_You'll get an email from the Post Office confirming which PO box it is._"  
"This mean we're coming home soon?"  
"_Depends if you can get what you need and get out,_" another voice answered him, causing the two on the screen to turn to their lefts.

G Callen smiled, he knew that voice. It was the voice he'd hear every night before the lights went out, and first thing the next morning as he turned on the kettle or moved to the bathroom to have a shower.

"Keeping my partner in line, Mrs. Callen?"  
"_Trying_," she shrugged, coming into his view behind her own partner, "_He's become a bit of a lone wolf since Renko and EJ left last week_."  
"I think I got through to him then."

His smile turned into a smirk as he watched her go through the files she held close to her chest and handed one back towards Hetty. The older women thanked her before telling the two men in front of the camera to get back to work.

"Renko's coming back to help you, yeah?" Callen asked his partner, "Or will he be sending one of his team until we get back?"  
"_Granger is assigning another team to OSP cases for the next few weeks, don't know how, but I guess he's pulled some strings. I'm just here making sure you three have back up._"  
"So you're doing the job you've been neglecting for the last six or so years?" he chuckled.  
"_Watch what you say, or I'll get Hetty to send you to Denver next_."

With a shrug, the ex-CIA agent looked to his wife who had taken up Eric Beale's spot as he moved away.

"_I better go before Hetty comes after me with her letter opener,_" his partner continued, "_Just be safe, and make sure all three of you come home_."  
"A few more weeks, minimum."

Sam smiled, standing up and pushing the chair he'd be occupying back into the desk before leaving the intelligence analyst alone on the screen.

"How are you?" he asked her, pulling his chair further into the desk, an attempt to be closer to her.  
"_Tired, Heidi found an apartment in San Diego, we've been packing for the last week_," Nell answered, "_She's happy, so I guess I should be too_."  
"Your little sister is moving away Pixie, never going to be easy."  
"_I wonder how you'll ever get used to someone not barging in uninvited_," she sighed dramatically.  
"Still not used to people barging in uninvited."

He watched as the intelligence analyst hid a giggle and pushed her hair away from her face. The sight bringing a smile to his face.

"You didn't dyed your hair again," Callen commented, taking in the orange-like strands.  
"_I'm going for a more natural look this month_," the intelligence analyst winked, leaning forward to pull files in front of her, "_My mother isn't happy with you_."  
"Why?"  
"_We missed Christmas, __again__."_

Frowning, the ex-CIA agent could only shrug, knowing that the older Jones woman would be unhappy for only a short amount of time, but he'd be able to work his way back into the women's good books that coming Easter.

"_I miss you_," she murmured, "_The house is really empty._"  
"A few more weeks and I'll be home."  
"_If you don't come home, I'll kill you myself_."  
"Wouldn't put it past you Pixie."

When she smiled, he tried his best to refrain from picking up the phone and booking plane tickets back to Los Angeles just so he could see her in person, rather than the electronic image in front of him that would never have done her justice.

"_I have to go, just, don't do anything stupid,_" Nell orders him, holding a manila folder to her chest.  
"I love you."  
He watches as she tries to hide a blush, knowing that Eric Beale was seated beside her, "_I love you_."

Callen smiles at her once more before she disconnects the video call. Leaning back in his seat he listened as the computer pinged, signaling that there was an email. He sat there for a moment, the sound of everyone outside moving as the New Year's celebrations continued coming through the screen door. Sitting up and sighing, he leant forward and picked up a pen and crossed off the 31st of December on the calendar Kensi Blye had placed at the computer desk when they first arrived.

A few more weeks, he told himself, only a few more weeks.

…

_I'm not too happy with this. But I couldn't change anything without screwing up the next chapter…_

_I'm posting this two days early in celebration of me finishing my first shift at my first job.  
Only screwed up twice. So I guess I did alright c:_

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are mine._

_Review?_


	6. 2015 - 2016

**Their New Years.  
2015 – 2016.  
Words: **494**  
Couple: **Nell Jones (Callen) and G Callen.**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles.**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS.**  
AU.  
Established Nell/Callen.**

…

The intelligence analyst cocked her head to the side, watching as her husband hoisted her nephew over his shoulders and ran him through the garden through the window. The young boy's loud giggle made her smile and shake her head at how childish G Callen truly could be. With her hands wrapped firmly around the mug of tea in her hands, Nell Callen was oblivious to her mother's entrance into the kitchen.

"He's amazing with kids," Lillian Jones commented, taking a place beside her at the kitchen counter.

Nodding slowly, Nell took a sip from the mug and thought back to the small image in her computer bag. She'd been working up the courage to say something the entire week since they'd arrived. Her husband had suggested just telling them when they're distracted so they didn't think too much about it and her brother's didn't think about killing him.

"You've met Sam's kids, you have to nothing but amazing with them," she shrugged finally.  
"He's a good person, he'd be a good father too Nell."  
"He will be."  
"_Will be?_"

Glancing at the woman, she realized her mistake. Placing the mug on the bench with a defeated sigh she turned to her with a shy smile. Her hand glided over her stomach, the tinniest bump there having only been obvious to her and Callen over the last week.

"How long?"  
"18 weeks."  
"Nell, that's," her mother held a hand over her mouth, "Congratulations sweetie!"

With a laugh she stepped toward her and return the hug her mother gave her. With her chin tucked on Lillian's shoulder, the intelligence analyst closed her eyes and tried not to cry. When she finally opened them again and spotted her husband leaning against the entrance to the kitchen with the young boy in his arms she pulled away from the older woman and fanned her face.

"God I hate hormones," she murmured, wiping underneath her eyes.  
"Oh you'll be having a lot more trouble with those in the future, wait until you figure out how horn-"  
"Mum! No, I am not talking about that!"

Callen's laugh made her blush as she stepped back from her mother. Lillian beginning to gush over names and room ideas for the unborn child.

"She's insane," Nell found herself whispering as her husband joined her at the bench.  
"She's your mother."  
"Your mother too, _Mr._ Callen."  
She watched him smirk and leant into him as he slipped an arm around her waist, "That's alright, _Mrs. _Callen, I'm too old for the insanity to have rubbed off on me."

Slapping him in the gut she ignored his chuckle and turned her attention back to her mother, who had pulled Heidi into the room to join her in her frenzy. With a shake of her head she reminded herself that there was _no _other way she could have told her mother, without being forced to plan out the poor child's life in the moments following.

…

_Not too big on the ending. I've re-written this like a hundred times, and this is the only draft where Nell and her mother don't talk about her work and how she's been lying to them for the last six or so years. But oh well c:_

_So after some planning (which normally never happens) I've decided that I'll stop this after ten chapters. Simply because I won't be able to drag it on for too long and all of my ideas sort of dry out after a while._

_Also after a lot of planning, those of you who read 'Told From Here' will notice that after I post this it'll be deleted, simply because I need to catch up on the chapters, and I have to replace everything that I've lost onto my computer before I do that. So I'll try my best to work on that but seeing as I now actually have __no__ free time anymore – still trying to understand how I got a job – it may be a while, but I will be doing this._

_So four more chapters guys! And while I'm here, the next one won't be 100% fluff. Bad stuff is happening in the next year for the team – not like that's different from any other year c;_

_Thank you!_

_All mistakes are mine._

_Review?_


	7. 2016 - 2017

**Their New Years.  
2016 – 2017.  
Words: **609**  
Couple: **Nell Jones (Callen) and G Callen.**  
TV Show: **NCIS: Los Angeles**  
Disclaimer: **All characters you recognize belong to Shane Brennan and CBS. David Jethro Callen is mine.**  
AU.  
Established Nell/Callen.  
Angst. Angst. Angst.**

…

Closing the door behind him, G Callen didn't bother taking his weapon out of the holster as he made his way through the house and followed the sound of his wife's voice towards the nursery. His head hurt from all of the information that he'd gone through, sitting at that desk that was never going to truly be _his_.

It was temporary, he'd remind himself throughout the day, at least until Nell Callen finished training the new intelligence analyst and could fill the position herself. Until they _hired _a new intelligence analyst.

They'd been through three in a month. One didn't understand the meaning of 'confidential', one was pulled by the FBI and the other didn't agree with the work hours. Though he knew that part of the reason for all of this was because no one in the OSP office wanted to move on. No one actually wanted to believe that what had happened was real.

"Can you hear that baby?" her whisper greeted him as he stopped at the open nursery door, "They're footsteps, which means Daddy's home and I can put you down without worrying about you waking up again."  
"Nell, he's asleep."  
"When I put him down after he'd fallen asleep about an hour ago, he woke up instantly and was screaming for you."  
"You're being too hard on your-"  
"Don't. Don't do that G."

He watched the woman in front of him hold their seven month old son closer to her chest, taking a deep breath and trying her best to not let a shattered sob shake the young boy in her arms.

"Every time I put him down he wakes up, it's like he knows what's going on G. He knows you're not home so he's making it harder for me."  
Taking small steps towards her, Callen rested a hand on her arm and used the other to gently coax the young boy from her, "You didn't sleep last night, did you?"  
"I couldn't," she shook her head, using her now free hands to wipe at her eyes, "I can't."

Stepping away from her, Callen turned and placed David in the cot. He made sure the blanket was tucked around his body properly, turning back to her in time to slip an arm around her waist to hold her up as her knees buckled beneath her.

"Hey, hey," he murmured, holding her to his chest and only wincing as her fist collided with his shoulder.  
"It's not fair," the intelligence analyst sobbed, "She didn't think about what it would do to everyone else. She just went. We told her not to, every single time, we told her not to. We told her we could help her! We're a _team_. We're a _family_. She had _no right_."

G Callen frowned, but didn't go to argue as she clung onto his shirt.

"She left us stranded, G. What did she expect us to do?"  
"What we always do Nell."  
"Save her ass?" she shook her head, "We couldn't this time. And now she's not here and we're looking for replacements and we're tying up her loose ends because she assumed that we would be alright without her."  
"Eventually, maybe some-"  
"No."

She pulled away from his to angrily wipe at her eyes, leaving him unsure what to do.

"No. We are falling apart, just everyone else is just so damn good at hiding it. G, Hetty was," Nell sucked in a breath, trying to keep from sobbing, "Hetty _is_ the woman that-that."

All he could do was pull her back into his arms, and hope to God that he wasn't going to break down too.

…

_So when I re-read this. It doesn't sound like it's set on New Years Eve. But it is. And it sort of upsets me that our first – tiny – introduction to David Jethro was in an angsty chapter. But that's how the timeline worked out! And no matter how many times I re-read it, I could change it. So, I'm not too happy with it, but I couldn't do much else._

_I apologize for how late this is. Life sort of crashed on top of me, that and I've always got a shift on the update night, so I've got limited time to get things up, so I'm figuring out some routine, and when I get around to figuring out what that routine is I'll actually write it down for once._

_Admittedly at this stage I don't have any of the next chapters written, but I'm planning them now and I hope I'll have them up in the next few weeks. I promise I'm not abandoning this story, I just need to get it up to scratch._

_Thank you!_


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